I'm searching for my father's paternal and maternal sides. My mother's family is Carpatho-Rusyn from Slovakia, if anyone can direct me to a site to search that half of my family, I would apreciate that so much.In Stigliano my father's paternal side is : Leonardo DiSanto, born 1887, married Rosaria Denise (Dinisi) in NY); Leonardo's parents were Rocco DiSanto and Theresa Giachella; Other DiSanto surnames included Comito, Montesano, Ripullone.My father's mother's family in USA were called Denise, but in Stigliano were DiNisi. Surnames included Marra,Dipersia, Pasciuccio, and Marchese. Can anyone help with any linkages for any of these lines? I can provide a bit more info about first names and husbands and wives, bt not too much. Also, if anyone understands name origins I would appreciate info. Thank you and God bless you!

Kinross wrote:I'm searching for my father's paternal and maternal sides. My mother's family is Carpatho-Rusyn from Slovakia, if anyone can direct me to a site to search that half of my family, I would apreciate that so much.In Stigliano my father's paternal side is : Leonardo DiSanto, born 1887, married Rosaria Denise (Dinisi) in NY); Leonardo's parents were Rocco DiSanto and Theresa Giachella; Other DiSanto surnames included Comito, Montesano, Ripullone.My father's mother's family in USA were called Denise, but in Stigliano were DiNisi. Surnames included Marra,Dipersia, Pasciuccio, and Marchese. Can anyone help with any linkages for any of these lines? I can provide a bit more info about first names and husbands and wives, bt not too much. Also, if anyone understands name origins I would appreciate info. Thank you and God bless you!

As I previously told you, you need to rent microfilms for either the town of Stigliano, or for the Province of Matera which have Stigliano records among them, to get information on these EARLIER surnames in your ancestry. Currently the online records for the town of Stigliano are limited to the more recent records (mostly the early 1900s). Your Anna Comito, for example, was herself born about 1834.

Kinross, I have also been researching family lines in Stigliano and elsewhere in Matera province using FHL microfilms, but I do not have Stigliano records from the later 19th century with the exception of some of the Indici Decennali. I looked through the Stigliano Indici Decennali for 1876-85 marriages for your Rocco DiSanto and Teresa Giachella, but their marriage is not listed within those years. There are several DiSanto marriages within that period, including a Rocco, but his bride is a Fornabaio. I think it likely, then, that unless Rocco and Teresa were married elsewhere, the marriage occurred before 1876, so this might give you a place to start in searching the FHL microfilms, which you will have to rent from FamilySearch. If you know the names and birth years of Rocco's siblings, that should help you narrow the search for this marriage record further. You then have to work backward through the films to find documents to piece together the connections.

Other clues I spotted on a quick search on FamilySearch.org is that Leonardo reported on his WW I draft registration that he was employed as a chauffeur by his brother Costa and that his parents and a brother in Italy were dependent on his income.

Also, in a search of New York marriages on Italiangen.org, the marriage of Leonardo and Rosaria is not listed. This might be explained by the fact that marriages are still being indexed and added to that site by volunteers, but you might also want to look at the post-1900 marriage record images on FamilySearch to see if by chance this couple married in Stigliano before emigrating.

lcafarel wrote:Kinross, I have also been researching family lines in Stigliano and elsewhere in Matera province using FHL microfilms, but I do not have Stigliano records from the later 19th century with the exception of some of the Indici Decennali. I looked through the Stigliano Indici Decennali for 1876-85 marriages for your Rocco DiSanto and Teresa Giachella, but their marriage is not listed within those years. There are several DiSanto marriages within that period, including a Rocco, but his bride is a Fornabaio. I think it likely, then, that unless Rocco and Teresa were married elsewhere, the marriage occurred before 1876, so this might give you a place to start in searching the FHL microfilms, which you will have to rent from FamilySearch. If you know the names and birth years of Rocco's siblings, that should help you narrow the search for this marriage record further. You then have to work backward through the films to find documents to piece together the connections.

Other clues I spotted on a quick search on FamilySearch.org is that Leonardo reported on his WW I draft registration that he was employed as a chauffeur by his brother Costa and that his parents and a brother in Italy were dependent on his income.

Also, in a search of New York marriages on Italiangen.org, the marriage of Leonardo and Rosaria is not listed. This might be explained by the fact that marriages are still being indexed and added to that site by volunteers, but you might also want to look at the post-1900 marriage record images on FamilySearch to see if by chance this couple married in Stigliano before emigrating.

I previously gave Kinross the following info:

It was Domenico Maria Disanto (born abt 1830), son of Rocco Disanto and Aurelia (Lolla) Ripullone, who married Maria Teresa Giachella (born May 17, 1834 in Stigliano), on April 14, 1853 in Stigliano. Their son, Rocco Disanto, b. Jan 17, 1855 in Stigliano, married Luisa Maria Fornabaio (born Oct 14, 1860 in Stigliano) on Aug 22, 1880 in Stigliano. She was the daughter of Leonardo Fornabaio and Anna Comito. I don't have any additional info on Leonardo Fornabaio and Anna Comito.

It was Domenico Maria Disanto (born abt 1830), son of Rocco Disanto and Aurelia (Lolla) Ripullone, who married Maria Teresa Giachella (born May 17, 1834 in Stigliano), on April 14, 1853 in Stigliano. Their son, Rocco Disanto, b. Jan 17, 1855 in Stigliano, married Luisa Maria Fornabaio (born Oct 14, 1860 in Stigliano) on Aug 22, 1880 in Stigliano. She was the daughter of Leonardo Fornabaio and Anna Comito. I don't have any additional info on Leonardo Fornabaio and Anna Comito.

Erudita, that will be the same Rocco DiSanto marriage I saw listed in the Indici Decennali. You've provided Kinross with good information with which to begin hunting down the original records on microfilm.

Kinross, there's obviously a discrepancy between the information you cited and the details that Erudita, a very experienced researcher, provided. You'll want to keep close tabs on these details by writing up the information using a list, spreadsheet, family group sheets, or a family tree, and treating the information as clues, not facts, until you can confirm the details by looking at images of the original documents. There are lots of tips online for ways to keep your details organized. You can find good examples in the research wiki on FamilySearch.org at https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Organize_your_genealogy and the linked pages.

My great grandmothers last name was DeSantis (you pronounce the 2nd S silent) and she was born and married in Frosinone, Lazio and its of Italian origin. When i seen your name "DiSanto" i instantly thought it was the same name but just a different variation of how you spell it, so i checked the De Santis variations and yours isnt there. Heres what i found out about the DiSanto family:

From the historical and enchanting region of Spain emerged a multitude of noble families, including the distinguished Disanto family. Originally, the Spanish people were known only by a single name. The process by which hereditary surnames were adopted in Spain is extremely interesting. Surnames evolved during the Middle Ages when people began to assume an extra name to avoid confusion and to further identify themselves. Often they adopted names that were derived from nicknames. Nickname surnames were derived from an eke-name, or added name. They usually reflected the physical characteristics or attributes of the first person that used the name. The name Disanto is a nickname type of surname for a person who was born on All Saint's Day. In the medieval chronicles, the name was originally recorded in the Latin form Sanctorum. First found in Castile, predominant among the Christian kingdoms of medieval Spain. Spelling variations of this family name include: disanto, Santos, Santo, Santero, Dossantos, Di Santo and many more.

First found in northern Italy, particularly in the regions of Piedmont, Lombardy and Tuscany. The surname Desantis is patronymic in origin, meaning it was based on the first name of a forefather. In this case, Desantis is derived from the Latin word "sanctus," meaning "holy" or "devout," thus the original bearer of the name was known to be a holy and devout person. Spelling variations of this family name include: De Santi, De Santis, Santo, Santucci, Santino, De Sanctis and many more.

I noticed the surname "Santo" is related and is from Italian or Spanish origin, but they're different families, different Coat of Arms. I thought this was interesting, according to this the DiSanto family is not Italian... Maybe the Spainards back in the day that were part of the Roman Empire formed a colony in Italy and vice-versa in Spain?

I appreciate all the information that others, especially Erudita, have given to me--so detailed with dates. What I was interested in were the other lines feeding into my father's family--Marra, Comito, Ripullone fom Stigliano--or information on what sites I should be conducting my searches. I really appreciate the help!Kinross

MarcoG wrote:My great grandmothers last name was DeSantis (you pronounce the 2nd S silent)

Sorry you actually do pronounce the S because its Latin.

MarcoG wrote:I noticed the surname "Santo" is related and is from Italian or Spanish origin, but they're different families, different Coat of Arms. I thought this was interesting, according to this the DiSanto family is not Italian... Maybe the Spainards back in the day that were part of the Roman Empire formed a colony in Italy and vice-versa in Spain?

Also i forgot to point out the obvious that the name Di Santo is pure Italian because of the way its spelled "Di". I just thought it was interesting because its also a Spanish name spelled the exact same way. But to make it a pure Spanish name it would most likely end with the S variant (Di Santos). So basically the origin of Di Santo is most likely the same as DeSantis just a different variation.